1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to wall mounted magnetic support arrangements for articles.
2. General Description of the Problem
The use of magnets to support articles from a wall or other vertically oriented surface is well known. It is usual to integrate a magnet into either the article to be supported or to affix the magnet to the wall, and then place an element made of a magnetically susceptible material, such as iron, in the article or on the vertical surface. When the article is brought into proximity of the magnetic element fixed to the vertical surface the magnetic attraction between magnetic elements in or on the article and surface operates to hold the article in place.
The utility of locating frequently used articles on walls is attested to by the number of patents directed to such systems. U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,614 to E. Taylor summarized various issues to be addressed in such arrangements. One issue was that of poor alignment of the magnetic elements, which could lead articles being jarred loose. Taylor addressed the issue by providing a wall mounted bracket made of a magnetizable material. The bracket had three flanges with the flanges pointing outwardly from the surface/base wall. A flashlight was modified to house a magnet in a rectangular structure located outside the flashlight's shell. The rectangular structure fitted within the flanges of the wall mounted bracket bringing the magnetic elements into contact to hold the flashlight in place.
If a supported article is frequently in use, and the location of the system is in an exposed location, the provision of an exposed metal bracket on a wall may be seen as obtrusive.